The Tramp

The Tramp is Charlie Chaplin's sixth film for Essanay Studios and was released in 1915. Directed by Chaplin, it was the fifth and last film he made at Essanay's Niles, California studio. The Tramp marked the beginning of The Tramp character most known today, even though Chaplin played an earlier version of the character in previous films. This film marked the first departure from the more slapstick character of the earlier films, with an emotional ending showing he cared for others, rather than just himself. The film co-stars Edna Purviance as the farmer's daughter and Ernest Van Pelt as Edna's father. The outdoor scenes were filmed on location near Niles. Plot The film starts with the Tramp walking down the road. He doesn't see a car come by and he barely manages to escape. A few seconds later, another car floors the Tramp. Not being able to fathom what just happened, he dusts himself off and decides to seek refuge in a nearby farm. There, he does the classic gag of doffing his hat to a tree. He sits underneath it and decides to eat his sandwich. However, a hobo exchanges the Tramp's sandwich for a brick, so the Tramp must eat grass. The Tramp sees this, and knows he cannot do anything, so he just sits there. The same hobo, however, molests a farmer's daughter (Edna Purviance), and she runs up to the Tramp, who comes to her aid with the help of the brick. The hobo tries getting the Tramp out of the way, but the Tramp kicks him off.